


hello love, for you i have so many words

by camilascheryl



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: ArchieRonnie, Bisexuality, F/F, F/M, bironnie, bisexualveronicalodge, varchie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-18 11:59:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16118009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camilascheryl/pseuds/camilascheryl
Summary: the hard part isn’t being in love with two people. it’s having to decide whether she loves him or her more.





	hello love, for you i have so many words

* * *

* * *

* * *

i. She’s trying to block out everything, and she’s horrible at it- not to mention every possible distraction that’s coming her way right now. If she doesn’t get an A on this test, her parents will kill her, so she’s had her Mac open all night going over her notes and recordings of lectures.  
  
Taxis and cars are honking below her window, Cheryl is making a loud noise in the kitchen of their apartment, and her boyfriend Archie won’t stop his incessant texting, pinging her laptop over and over again until she loses it. Slamming her laptop shut, she grabs one of Archie’s sweatshirts that he left at her place, throwing it on and laughing as she watches it swallow her in the reflection from her mirror.    
  
The living room is freezing cold, and her bare feet peel off of the wooden floor quickly, darting to the kitchen. Cheryl is there, as well as her girlfriend Toni, and a tall blonde looking girl with striking cheekbones and intriguing brown eyes. She scans over her body with her eyes, her lightly tanned stomach peeking out from her crop top- she doesn’t want to, but she can’t help it.    
  
“Hey,” the girl speaks up first, extending her hand which Veronica holds, smooth skin in her palm. “You must be Veronica, I’m Rylie.”   
  
Rylie. She sounds beautiful, she looks it too. Veronica’s heart is thumping a little too much, because she knows this is inappropriate. The locket hanging around her neck saying ‘A&V Forever’ burns cold against her chest.    
  
“Nice to meet you,” Rylie smiles, flashing a softened smile, and it’s too tempting. All three girls are sipping on bottles of beer, and she assumes Rylie is forward because she makes a comment. “Are you mad that we’re drinking your beers?”   
  
“They’re Archie’s,” Toni interjects. “But she also wouldn’t care.”   
  
It’s true, and Archie wouldn’t mind either. She’s formed a habit of buying all of Archie’s favorite groceries and stocking them at her and Cheryl’s- somewhat leverage to get him to stay over more, but also since he’s already over here all the time.   
  
“Is Archie your other roommate?” Rylie asks, taking a long swig from the glass bottle. It’s then that Veronica remembers she promised to call him tonight.    
  
“He’s her boyfriend,” Toni answers. “Archie’s  super nice, you’ll have to meet him.”   
  
“Sure,” Rylie replies, any sign of enthusiasm draining from her face. Veronica knows this, because she can’t take her eyes off of her.    
  
She remembers back in the day at Spence when she was in love with a different girl, and she remembers being terrified that it wasn’t allowed. It was never in the meticulously mapped out plans for her life. After a while, the girl had moved away, and years later Veronica had met Archie- a perfect picture of good.    
  
Her parents would never allow it. The thought escapes the confinement of her mind as easily as it once did back in her more rebellious days.    
  
But the part that never went away is the wobbly feeling in her knees when she sees a girl like this, mysterious and beautiful. Rylie is the epitome of that definition.    
  


 

 

 

  
  
ii. They’ve met everyday outside of the same coffee shop- going on three years now. Her order is ingrained into his mind, and everyday he waits for her under the street light, turned off in the sunshine.   
  
Today she’s not alone. On her arm is a tall dirty blonde, with an interesting sense of style. She’s wearing some black flare jeans with a multi-colored crop top, and he can see her belly button ring. He wants to look for longer; wants to study so he can read the situation better.   
  
But Veronica, his Veronica, picks up her pace and sets at a light jog to him, snatching her macchiato with nimble fingers and a kiss on the cheek.    
  
“I’m sorry that I didn’t call last night,” she apologizes before the girl is in their bubble, giving a few intimate words just for him.    
  
“Rylie Sanders,” the blonde interjected, extending a hand which he awkwardly shook before turning back to Veronica, who hadn’t followed her usual routine of cuddling into his side.    
  
“Archie Andrews,” he responds, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets since they’re not occupied by holding Veronica’s hand. “Do you want me to walk you to class Ronnie?”   
  
It’s a habit to ask, as if she’d say no- everyday he also carries her books for her and walks her all the way to her 9 a.m. class.    
  
“Actually, Rylie and I were gonna work on a psychology project together, so we got out of lecture today,” Veronica says, and the two share a weird look that leaves Archie feeling unincluded.    
  
“We’re still on for dinner with my dad tonight?” he double checks, searching for a bit of normalcy in the weird morning, as she nods yes and leans up to give him one more quick kiss. And this is always the best part of his day, starting the morning with his girl- it’s been their routine since he was a sophomore and she was a freshman at NYU, having met at a frat party and immediately hitting it off.    
  
They were from two different worlds- a small town golden boy finding his groove in the hustle and bustle of the city, and a girl who’d grown up here and knew the ins and outs, taking the world in the palm of her hand. Admittedly, they were a perfect match, just the right amount of push and pull to balance each other.   
  
Archie watches them as they cross the street together, hearing the giggle roll of Veronica’s lips- the one that she only lets loose when she’s laughing at his jokes, and anger bubbles up inside of him.    
  
iii. After some interviews for their psychology project, the girls run back to Veronica’s apartment so they can compile their work and get everything organized. The smaller girl plops herself down on her couch, laptop in hand as she types away, rapidly clicking the keyboard. Rylie is watching her intently, a little bit of blue light from the computer glowing against her face.    
  
“Archie seemed really nice,” the blonde adds softly, picking at the acrylic nail on her thumb. There’s an air to her voice that makes Veronica feel that she wants to say something else.    
  
“Yeah, he’s a sweetheart,” Veronica says, plastering a smile over her face. She feels so damn awkward- she hasn’t felt this in years, that little tug that makes her think she’s found someone again.    


_ She’s dressed in a tiny little gold crop top and a black skirt, following Reggie around the frat house and watching the dozens of other girls doing the same with their respective dates. Reggie’s nice and all, a boy she met when she was cheering back at Spence. They make their way over to a group of boys playing beer pong, and there’s a red head in a white tee shirt that has a smile with more to tell. _ __  
__  
_ Archie, his name is, and she knows she’ll remember that face, the way his arm moved to her waist when he was helping her learn how to play beer pong correctly, his hand over hers.  _ __  
__  
_ Reggie was already off sucking another girls face, so she decided she’d hang out with Archie a little more, enjoying the way he was treating her. Finally, at the hours of two in the morning, she decided she was due back at her apartment, and instead of getting a cab, Archie offered to walk her back home.  _ __  
_  
_ __ It was October- so not too chilly- but she didn’t need a jacket when she easily slipped her arm into the perfectly sized crook of his arm. Upon arriving to her apartment building, he walked her all the way inside and to her door to make sure she was safe.

 

_ “You can go now, Archiekins,” she giggled with starry eyes, the nickname slipping off of her tongue for the first of a million times. He matched her with an even more flirty laugh, brown eyes pouring something tangible and real into her soul. _

 

_ “You really must not want me to kiss you goodnight, then?” he challenged, dark eyebrows raised as his face turned into a halfway smirk. “Cause I was starting to think you were catching feelings.” _

 

_ “Oh, I’m the one who’s catching feelings?” Veronica teased, hand resting just under the collar of his jacket. “That’s just rich coming from you.” _

 

_ “What is that supposed to mean?” Archie gasped in mock hurt, his facial expression sending her into a spiral of giggles. _

 

_ “You probably wrote the book on being a frat boy- baseball player, a secret tortured musician, it’s too obvious.” she smirked back, knowing she’d gotten exactly what she wanted as his tongue darted out to catch his teeth, giving her the look that meant he’d surrendered. _

 

_ “I’m afraid you’ve got me there, Lodge.” She could feel the blood pumping in her heart as his body heat got closer, her back pressed against the brick walls- one of his hands resting on the wall by her head and the other inching dangerously close to her hip bone. “But you’re a mystery.” _

 

_ “I guess it’ll be up to you to figure me out.” _

  
  


 

 

 

 

iii. She’s learning more and more about Rylie, and the knowledge only fuels her fire- she’s from Rhode Island, is a Libra, and is an art major NYU. Veronica wonders why she never noticed the girl in her psychology class before, but according to Rylie she’d never shown up to the class because Professor Wilson didn’t take attendance.

 

“True, but don’t you want to make good grades in there?” Veronica tipped her head back with an airy laugh. 

 

“You just have to pass to graduate,” Rylie said, dark eyebrows raised high over the top of her computer screen, facing directly across from Veronica on the small table in Central Park. “Plus, I’m a master people watcher…”

 

“Well what do you even wanna do with your life?” the brunette asks her with a confused expression spreading around her face. 

 

“As soon as I graduate this weekend, I’m interning at a gallery for the summer and hopefully after that they’ll hire me to be a curator, and I’ll get to display some of my work,” Rylie explains, her white fingernails in stark contrast with her abstract computer casing. 

 

“What kind of art do you do?” Veronica inquired further, focusing on the way Rylie’s eyelashes fluttered when she blinked. 

 

“I’m more into abstract painting, but I do a little bit of portrait work. My final project for my Art Studies class is to do a portrait with one half photo and one half painting,” the blonde explained, and she doesn’t even realize what she’s saying before the words are spilling out of her mouth.

 

“I can be your model,” Veronica lets slip, sitting up further on the couch, smile plastered on her face. “Do you have your stuff?”

 

Soon enough, Rylie has pulled out an old film looking camera, as well as a sketchbook and some fancy looking pencils. The picture is the easy part, Veronica just has to get into good lighting and look straight on. 

 

“Wow, your eyes are beautiful,” Rylie comments as she sketches the outer frame of Veronica’s face. “And your eyebrows.”

 

“Thank you,” Veronica blushes, and it feels suffocatingly hot in the apartment even though Cheryl keeps their place freezing all of the time. 

 

Rylie is a step closer now, to sketch out the curve of Veronica’s tiny nose, and she feels the girl’s breath tickle her cheek, so close that she could reach out with her fingertips and brush against skin. And she’s pretty sure there’s no way it’s normal for your stomach to have a heartbeat, but here it is.

 

A tapping rhythm that won’t subdue. 

 

The close proximity turns into mere inches before she sees Rylie leaning in further, pink lips just softly touching her own, but it feels so good that she sighs into it, tugs Rylie’s lips and lets the girl brush through her hair with her fingers. It’s bad, she shouldn’t be doing it, but she can’t will herself to stop doing it either. It feels like one of those in-love kisses, where there’s something more lingering underneath and you can’t wait to peel back all of the layers.

 

Rylie finally pulls away and swipes Veronica’s lip with her thumb to remove some smudged lipstick, and it feels ten times as intimate as the kiss itself.

 

And now it’s starting to sink in- she  _ kissed  _ Rylie, and not only that but she enjoyed it thoroughly, mind tingling almost, and she wanted to explore more, the curve of her back and the way the blonde waves go halfway down.

 

She thinks she might throw up, and all she hears is Rylie apologizing insistently before she runs to her room, slamming the door so fast that the walls shake. And she’s almost sure she hears the front door close too.

 

 

 

 

  
iv. The massage she’s giving to her temples doesn’t help. She did that, and she cannot erase it now.For hours, she lies awake and stares at the ceiling fan- the blades twirling and becoming a blur. It feels like her life. It’s spinning so fast, so out of control, that she can’t even see it.

 

She falls asleep simply because she can’t bear to be awake, and when she opens her eyes it’s dark and her phone is lit up in its position on the nightstand. After grabbing it, she notices 14 missed calls from Archie and several texts, the most recent being, ‘Is something wrong??’

 

A feeling of horrible guilt creeps in, not for that, but for the fact that she most definitely kissed someone else today; and not only that, but a girl. Archie has absolutely no idea about her past, no clue that she’s bisexual. The only person who knows are some of her friends from high school and Cheryl- because she’s a complete snoop and read Veronica’s diary.

 

How does she even go about telling him? And at the worst possible time with his dad in town for his graduation. 

 

Nonetheless, she gets herself put together and out the door as quick as she can, hailing a cab in a hurry and arriving to Archie’s place in under fifteen minutes. On the elevator ride up to the fifth floor, she gnaws on the inside of her cheeks, which are surely flushed red at this point out of pure stress. 

 

Knocking twice on his door softly, she doesn’t have to wait long until Archie turns up at the door, concerned etched all over his face until he sees her.

 

“You scared me to death Ronnie,” he sighs, reaching out for her cheek to hold it in the palm of his hand. “Is everything okay?” 

 

“I was just in an emergency meeting with the board,” Veronica makes up on the spot, because Fred knows she’s a shareholder of Lodge Industries and it seems like a stable excuse. She wants to tell the truth, and say no, but she can see Fred waving from the recliner in the living room and waves back, almost concealing it.

 

“I need to talk to you.” Veronica says feverishly, and her pale tone concerns Archie even further, shutting the door and stepping out into the hallway.

 

“Spit it out, Ronnie. You’re making me worried,” Archie urges further, hands resting just at her waist. 

 

“I don’t even know how to start by saying this…” Veronica exhales purely out of nerves. This is years of thought escaping right now to the person she cares about more than anyone else- it’s secret kisses with Brooke Nelson in the ninth grade, falling in love with her best friend Mia not long after they were fifteen, too many journal entries to count about the way she felt towards girls. “I need you to promise me you’re not going to think of me differently?”

 

He’s never seen this vulnerable side of her in the years he’s known her, so he knows whatever he’s about to find out has to be the most important thing to her.

 

“I like girls, too,” she starts, mentally cursing herself for the wording of it. “Meaning that I like males and females- I’m bisexual.” What she expects is for him to look at her strange, or maybe even walk away from her, but instead he pulls her straight into his embrace- warm and steady.

 

“Okay,” is all he says at first, so gentle. “Thank you for telling me, Ronnie.” Chin placed atop her head, he breathes in her scent and continues to embrace her, knowing that there’s nothing she could say that would change how he felt about her. And it doesn’t make him feel different that she’s embracing her sexuality, in fact he’s proud of her and the person she is. 

 

“That isn’t all,” Veronica interrupts sheepishly, cheek still pressed against the material of his navy wool sweater, soft and inviting just like the person wearing it. “I’ve always known, I think, but something sparked these feelings to come back, and I can’t will them away,” she sighs, pulling back so that her dark brown eyes can stare into his slightly paler ones. They’re so warm, it feels like they’ve been waiting for her own eyes to meet them back for all of eternity. 

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Archie asks, and Veronica knows their isn’t pressure involved, but it feels like he’s being oddly patient, and she’s going to tell him. 

 

“Rylie and I kissed today.” 

 

There comes the silence, for many seconds, just hollow beats of their breathing and a slight hum from the building’s AC unit.

 

“She kissed me first,” Veronica explains further. “But I let her, and I continued, and I think a part of me really liked it.”

 

“Okay,” Archie’s voice cracks, and he’s still trying his hardest to make sure she knows he isn’t mad. He’s going to be supportive. “Do you have feelings for her?”

 

“Sort of,” Veronica musters up. “But I’m also not in love with her, and I’m in love with you, Archie. You understand that, right?”

 

“I understand,” he says, without missing a beat. “Do you want to come inside?”

 

There’s not much left to be said between them at the moment, as they’re both a little emotionally worn and he can feel that. They walk inside together, and Veronica gets the chance to greet Fred before Archie returns with her favorite blanket at his place, snuggling up with her on the couch. 

 

She falls asleep quickly, and he doesn’t have the heart to wake her, so when Fred heads to bed he carefully wraps her up in his arms and carries her back to his room where he lays awake. Her snoring is rhythmic but he’s worried- worried that somehow they won’t end up together anymore and he knows his heart can’t bare that. Finally, much too late, he holds her even closer and falls asleep with his face buried into her endless raven hair. 

 

 

 

 

  
v. Waking up in his arms just feels right, and some of the cloudy doubts in her mind start to clear up as she watches his him sleep. Brushing red tendrils of hair out of his face, she scratches her acrylic nails against his scalp, warmly tucked under his covers.

 

“Ron,” he murmurs, kissing the space between her eyes with his own eyes still closed. “What time is it?”

 

“It’s almost ten,” Veronica replies sleepily, rolling almost entirely on top of him so that she can lean down and kiss him lazily, entrapping his lips in a series of pecks. 

 

“Let’s make some breakfast,” Archie decides, picking her up, and she’s too little to fight so she just collapses against his chest as he carries her out into the kitchen, where Fred is sitting at the table with a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

 

“Morning kids,” he greets with a wave, and Veronica lets out a little giggle at his glasses before greeting him again for the morning. Archie sets her on the counter and gets to work, knowing she’s not a fan of doing the work herself, but he’s more than happy to do it if it means waking up with her. 

 

They’ve talked about moving in together, but he’s not sure if Veronica is as serious about it as he is- there was a point in time where he’d thought about moving back to Riverdale and helping his dad with the business, but Veronica had swayed her father into offering Archie a paid internship for the summer. She still has another year of school left, so the option of her following him to Riverdale was out of the picture.

 

She’s compelled to ask about it, so that she has some kind of idea about what’s happening. Sure, they’ll have the entire summer together, but if he’s leaving after that, that makes everything ten times more complicated. Because Rylie will be here.

 

“Now that you’re gonna be a college graduate, does it seem lame that you’re dating a student?” Veronica teases, stealing his attention away from the stove as he comes to stand between her legs, long and tan, wrapping around his waist. 

 

“I don’t know that you’ve ever referred to yourself as lame before,” he responds with that cute little half smile that she loves so much- it’s the first thing she realized she ever loved about him before she knew she was  _ in love  _ with him. She even has to close her eyes at his cuteness before leaning in to kiss him softly, feeling his hands graze her hip bones. Two sounds occur instantaneously- the distinct clearing of Fred’s throat, and a knock at the front door. 

 

“I’ll get it,” Fred says quickly, evidently to get away from their PDA session, but Archie doesn’t take it as a sign to pause and he keeps kissing her like his life depends on it. Not that she’s complaining, he has nice lips. 

 

They only break apart again when Fred returns to the living room, noticing someone behind him. 

 

“Rylie?” they both ask at the same time, Veronica feeling a little sick to her stomach at the prospect of having to deal with the aftermath. 

 

So, instead of dealing with it, she scrambles to Archie’s room and collects her clothes and shoes, passing by the two of them in the kitchen with her head down. 

 

“Veronica,” Rylie reaches out and brushes her arm, causing Veronica to wince at the contact.

 

“I have to go,” she mumbles, making her way swiftly out of the apartment door. Archie isn’t going to let her leave like this, he doesn’t like the ache in his heart watching her walk away. 

 

Finally catching up to her outside of the elevator doors he lets out a sigh and holds out his hands.

 

“What?” Veronica mumbles, staring at her own shoes to avoid searing eye contact. 

 

“Look at me,” Archie pleads. “I know you well enough to know that you aren’t okay Ronnie.”

 

She exhales thumb lightly brushing against his knuckles, “I’m not okay, Archie. I’m scared- scared of all of these feelings I have.”

 

“Talk to me,” he adds, a bit of urgency in his voice. “I want to be able to help.”

 

“I don’t know if what I’m feeling is real, Archie,” Veronica admits- and it’s always been that way. She’s always had these confusing feelings for girls in the past, and has buried them deep inside. It wasn’t meant to be. 

 

“With me?” Archie questions, his forehead wrinkles deepening as his eyebrows shoot up in confusion.

 

“No, no,” she quickly denies- her feelings for him might be the only thing she’s sure of at this point. “But you don’t deserve to be put through this either, all of my confusing decisions.” 

 

“What are you saying?” he asks now, a little bit of worry lacing his words. 

 

“I’m saying that none of this is fair to you, that I can’t decide what I’m feeling. And the last thing I want is to hurt you,” Veronica starts, and he knows what’s coming but he can’t brace himself for it. 

 

“Don’t-“

 

“No,” she interrupts. “I just need a tiny bit of time, okay?” With her hand on his cheek, her eyes feel like they’re tearing into his when she turns and goes down the stairwell. He wants to punch a wall- and he gives himself a minute out in the hallway to collect himself. 

 

 

 

  
v. The sun is blazingly hot, searing against his pale skin amongst the thousands of students dressed in their caps and gowns in the packed stadium, and the crowd is much too full to even find her, but he doubts she’s here. He always imagined she’d be at his college graduation, but he seems to understand after the morning that she needs some space- he just wishes she wants so indecisive because it hurts worse when she comes back to him.

 

His last name, Andrews, is one of the first, and he hears a few whistles and cheers from Reggie and his other teammate Moose who are seated close by to each other. Subconsciously, he’s still checking the stands to see her face, to feel the comfort she brings him. 

 

Being the kind human he is, he claps for Rylie when she walks across the stage- after all, it’s not her fault. The graduation ceremony is extremely long, but he supposes it’s the right way to go out.

 

22 years, and this is really the beginning of it all. There’s plans to be made, a new life to be started and he wishes he could just take her and they could run away together, chasing some crazy dream but having each other. That’s all he thinks he’d need. He’s just done talking to his teammates when he sees his dad walking towards him from the steps, pulling him into a hug. 

 

“My son is officially an adult,” Fred says, but it’s more excited and less emotional. It’s then that he sees her, in a little white dress and heels that still make her go up to his chin, and she hugs him first, burrowing into that place between his neck and shoulder that she fit perfectly in. 

 

“Let me get a picture,” Fred ushers then together, totally ignoring their groans as they paint their faces with smiles in each other’s arms. “Now a silly one.” 

 

“Dad,” Archie laughs, and he captures a photo of both of them cracking up. Fred gives them a moment to themselves to go talk to the Mantles, and Archie pulls her right back into his chest.

 

“You made it,” Archie asks after bending down, nose nuzzled against her cheek. “Thanks for coming.”

 

“Are you kidding?” she giggles against his bottom lips, and he’s almost trying not to get too happy. “I wouldn’t miss the first day of the rest of our life.”

 

“Our life?” he repeats, a boyish grin on his face, unerasable. 

 

“You and me kiddo,” she loops their fingers softly. “I think we should move in together. And stay here, until I graduate.” 

 

“And then what?” Archie asks softly, and he’s fully caught into the fantasy, picturing it all- the wedding, the white picket fence, little kids. 

 

“We decide, together.” Veronica says, and he feels right at home. 

 

They spot Cheryl and Toni across the crowd, and make their way over to the pair, his hand slipping in hers.

 

“Woah, woah,” he interrupts when she doesn’t tangle her fingers with his. 

 

“What?” Veronica asks, confused at his goofy expression.

 

“We have to waffle, it’s the best way to hold hands,” Archie says as if it were obvious, weaving his way through the crowds as their fingers finally mix. “It’s our way.”

 

“And that’s what makes it the best.” she grins. 

 

Her heart isn’t perfect, it’s messy and indecisive and evolving and she might have loved other people before, in painful ways, but her heart belongs to Archie. She knows that know.

**Author's Note:**

> [ title taken from ben howard’s ‘i forget where we were’ ] 
> 
> so excited to have posted my first piece of writing for the archieronnie fandom!! this idea has been floating around in my head for a while and i finally got to writing it out and making it into something real. i hope you all enjoyed, and i’d loved to know what you thought in a comment below!!!
> 
> i also take requests and questions both in the comment section here, or on my tumblr & twitter (both @camilascheryl)


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